Your Personal Trainer: Tighten Core, Get Sexy Shoulders

Taylor Ryan is CafeMom's personal trainer, here each week to help us get in shape. Today, she shows us the Medicine Ball Twist—a simple exercise to work our arms and tummy. And to make sure our diet is on track, she also shares a healthy eating tip to focus on for the week.

Change up your beverage. If you are like 58 percent of Americans, you find yourself grabbing for a Diet Coke at least once a day. The problem is that these "diet" drinks aren't as good for your waistline as we all hope. Recent research has shown that your brain reacts to the artificial sweeteners as if they were sugar and that means hording fat. Women who drink diet sodas are more likely to deal with weight gain, not weight loss.

So what's the best way to deal with it? Drink water. Few of us actually get the recommended amount of water a day. Not only does it help hydrate you but drinking eight glasses of water a day helps your metabolism work more efficiently making it easier for you to lose weight.

Next time you need something fizzy, just grab a bottle of seltzer water with a squeeze of lemon, lime, or orange!